Janata Dal Secular (JDS) supremo H D Deve Gowda on Thursday issued a stern warning to his grandson Prajwal Revanna, asking him to return to India, surrender to the police or face his wrath. He also said he should be given the harshest punishment if the accusations against him turn out to be true.
The former Prime Minister took to X (formerly Twitter) and posted ä letter to Prajwal and captioned it saying “I have issued a warning to @iPrajwalRevanna to return immediately from wherever he is and subject himself to the legal process. He should not test my patience any further.”
In a related development, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is processing a request of the Karnataka government seeking cancellation of the diplomatic passport of suspended Janata Dal (Secular) MP Revanna, who is accused of sexually harassing several women.
Official sources said the MEA has received a letter from the Karnataka government seeking revocation of Revanna’s diplomatic passport.
As regards, Deve Gowda’s warning, in a two-page letter dated May 23 with the title ‘My Warning To Prajwal Revanna’, he said “I spoke to the media about Prajwal Revanna on May 18, when I was headed to the temple to offer pooja (prayers). It took me some time to recover from the shock and pain he (Revanna) has inflicted on me, my entire family, my colleagues, friends and party workers”.
Deve Gowda further went on to say he was of the view that Prajwal Revanna should be subject to the ‘harshest of punishments’, and that his son and former Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy also advocated his stance on the matter.
He said people (reacting to the Prajwal Revanna sex scandal) have used the ‘harshest of words’ against him and his family in the last few weeks.
In the open letter, the 91-year-old politician said he asserted that he is not aware of the alleged activities of his grandson, who is also the sitting MP of Hassan.
Deve Gowda further warned Prajwal to return if the latter has any respect towards his grandfather. He further wrote, “I can do only one thing. I can issue a stern warning to Prajwal and ask him to return from wherever he is and surrender before the police. He should subject himself to the legal process. This is not an appeal that I am making, it is a warning that I am issuing.”
Deve Gowda also told Prajwal that not listening to family members will lead to total isolation. “If he does not heed to this warning, he will have to face my anger and anger of all his family members. The law will take care of the accusations against him, but not listening to the family will ensure his total isolation. If he has any respect left for me, he has to return immediately,” he added.
Revanna is at the centre of a sexual abuse case and the Hassan MP is said to have left India late last month, a day after voting for the Lok Sabha elections took place in his constituency.
“The MEA has received a letter from the Karnataka government for cancellation of diplomatic passport in respect of MP Prajwal Revanna. This is being processed,” a source said.
Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Wednesday said the Centre has not responded to the request for cancellation of Revanna’s diplomatic passport on the basis of an arrest warrant issued against the JD(S) leader.
A Special Court for Elected Representatives issued an arrest warrant on Saturday against Prajwal following an application moved by the SIT.
Earlier this month, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Revanna travelled to Germany on a diplomatic passport and did not seek political clearance for the trip.
“No political clearance was either sought from or issued by MEA in respect of the travel of the said MP to Germany,” Jaiswal had said.
